The importance of an adequate supply of zinc to the diet of both animals and humans has long been reported in the literature. Adequate dietary intake of zinc for swine, cattle, and poultry has been known for some time to be of importance. For example, when these animals do not have a sufficient level of zinc ions in the diet, the animals may well develop skin conditions showing noted zinc deficiencies. For example, the skin may become scaly and inflamed. In addition, it has been reported in the literature that animals fed a diet deficient in zinc may tend to develop congenital anomalies and fibrotic changes in the esophagus. Additionally, and very importantly, an adequate level of zinc in the diets of swine, poultry, and cattle has been shown as important for healthy growth of the animals and increased weight gain.
With regard to humans, zinc deficiencies have been reported as possibly tied to arteriosclerosis, the proper growth and functioning of sex organs, and the ability of skin wounds to heal fast and properly.
While the importance of an adequate zinc level in the diet of both animals and humans has been known and reported for some time, maintenance of adequate zinc levels in the dietary intake has not necessarily been easy to achieve. Moreover, dietary supplementation by utilization of conventional salts of zinc, such as zinc chloride, seems to be inadequate. This is so because the zinc exists in a form which is not readily absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and therefore may not be distributed and utilized effectively in the body.
Methionine, of course, is an essential amino acid needed in the building of body protein and thus critically needed for proper growth of man and other animals.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide novel zinc compounds wherein the zinc is in a form which can be readily absorbed after ingestion by animals and readily distributed and utilized in order to provide adequate zinc levels for proper health, weight gain, and dietary balance of animals.
Another object of this invention is to provide a method of increasing the body uptake and use of methionine by ingesting 1:1 zinc methionine complexes with the body utilizing a greater proportion of the methionine in protein building than it uses when the compound methionine per se is utilized for nutritional supplementation.
Yet, another object of this invention is to provide a process for making novel zinc compounds which is simple to perform and can be economically utilized in large-scale plant practice to prepare the novel zinc compounds of this invention in bulk for ready utilization in large quantities to supplement the diets of animals and humans.
The method of accomplishing these and other objects will become apparent from the following description of the invention.